Broom Center Dares Students to Change PR
Gearing up for their first in-person event in two years, the Glen M. Broom Center for Professional Development in Public Relations is preparing to change PR for good. A team of 11 PR seniors work as public relations specialists to host the Broom Center’s 5th annual Allen H. Center Distinguished Lecture in Public Relations.
On March 1 at 4 p.m., the Broom Center is teaming up with PR icon Charlene Wheeless to deliver a message on making positive change in the workplace and forging your own journey. She has been on PRWeek’s 50 most influential public relations professionals list for five years straight, sharing her story at events across the country.
The students at SDSU have much that they can learn from Wheeless.
Gen Z practitioners recognize the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace and are committed to making it more than a conversation.
“The Gen Z perspective is unlike anything I’ve ever seen in the industry,” shares Broom Center Director Dr. Kaye Sweetser. “This generation has both the empathy and the passion needed to make a change. I see it everyday in my work with current students – they know when something is wrong and they are willing to stand up to push for change.”
According to a recent Gallup poll tracking the mood of the nation, others in America are potentially positioning to mobilize behind that change.
From witnessing the power of alliance through the pandemic and social justice movements like Black Lives Matter to the revolution of the workers in the Great Resignation, change is already afoot.
For its part, the Broom Center is working to invest in traditionally-marginalized communities in attracting them to the PR industry and support them once in it.
The lead planner for this year’s Center Lecture, Roxanna Boren, provides her insight on behalf of the team.
“I think Dr. Broom would be proud of the work we are doing as a part of the center he founded,” shares Boren. “The team has put in countless hours to make the Center Lecture an event that will empower PR students to be the change they want to see in the world. I know it will pay off.”
The Broom Center looks to Wheeless to rally local PR practitioners along with SDSU students at the March 1 event. The Center Lecture, held at San Diego State University’s Tula Community Center, is free and open to the public. Parking passes are available free of charge and guests are encouraged to RSVP in advance.
Guests are required to follow SDSU’s COVID-19 regulations which ask for confirmation of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test to attend. Facial coverings will be required indoors.
About Glen M. Broom Center for Professional Development in Public Relations: improves the public relations industry through investing in the people who practice it. With programs aimed at untenured PR professors, PR students and practitioners, the Broom Center focuses on the people who will shape the industry in the coming generation. Founded in 2012, the Broom Center is housed in the School of Journalism and Media Studies at San Diego State University. The Center takes its name from the iconic professor Dr. Glen M. Broom, who wrote Cutlip & Center’s Effective Public Relations, which is the most-used PR textbook and defined the industry.
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Twitter: @BroomCenter
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For more information, contact:
Aleesia Benkey
714-244-0535
